Moremajor

Perfect cruise for me would be Sydney to New Zealand, Fiji, Bora Bora then finishing in Hawaii. That would be amazing!

That comment is rather crude. When you travel you must always be aware of your surroundings, that is just common sense. As far as Europe being safe, do you watch the news? There are bad things happening in Europe. You have no right to tell anyone to get a grip. If someone does not feel comfortable in a situation then there is usually a reason. I was not there, so I am not going to judge how anyone handled the situation or how they felt about the lost passengers. However, I am making a judgement about you as I find your comments belittling to the poster.

We did TJ tours. They were amazing. Our guide, I think her name was Tatiana was the best guide I have ever had and that says a lot because I have worked with over 200 guides.

Hello fellow Canadian. I too am from Ontario (near Kingston), and I am not ashamed to admit my addictions; cruising, planning a cruise, and Cruise Critic. You will love the Breeze. It is my favourite ship. It is never to early to explore what the ship has to offer and to plan excursions. There are lots of great videos of the ship on YouTube. If you have a smart tv, play the videos there. That will really build excitement.

One piece of advice for you, keep checking the prices for your cruise. Maybe check prices for flights as well. The way to Texas will be fun but the way home might be a different story. Just a thought. Sometimes airlines will offer deals on certain flights. Happy planning!

Yesterday I booked a 9 day cruise on Jewel of the Seas to Italy and Greece. It was through the Canadian Cruisers special deal that was offered. I booked a balcony, included gratuities in the pricing and with port fees, and taxes it came to $4003.00. I checked my account about an hour after I booked it and everything was correct. Imagine my surprise today when I checked my account and saw $5900.00. I got on the phone right away. After being on hold for 15 minutes, then another 10 for the agent to talk to someone, it was fixed. I asked how this happens and he had no response. So, if you booked through this offer, be sure to check your account so it can be fixed right away if need be.

I am disappointed that there is no pool in the Solarium. What were they thinking? Based on what I saw on the deck plans, it looks like the slide goes right through the Solarium area as well. Did anyone else see that or am I off base here?

Hi Gambee. Some people are so entitled! The smokers next to you are beyond rude. How dare they impact the enjoyment of the vacation you paid for. The entitled female and her Mercedes, well who cares what she drives. She just had to make sure the driver knew that she was more important than him because of what she drives. People like your neighbours and the fancy car lady do not have enough intelligence and class to display simple manners. Shame on them!

Hi Gambee. Thank you so much for the detailed review of the Oasis. I really enjoyed it and have learned so much. My husband and I will be sailing in August and your review has certainly built excitement. This will be the last time we will have to cruise in the summer. After 31 years of teaching teenagers, I will be retiring February 2017. When I do, I hope to have some time to do a review of our btb Vista and Harmony cruises. However, there is NO WAY I could ever fill your shoes. Your review is awesome. Thank you once again.

I think that Carnival has a lot to offer, depending on the boat. I have sailed with them several times, but I think they offer the same, for the most part, on every boat. That got boring so we have been sailing with Royal. We have done Serenade in the Baltics and now will try Oasis this summer. Both lines have good things to offer, but for now we are enjoying a bit more of an upscale experience on Royal. However, I have bookings on the Vista for 2017 and the Conquest prior to our Oasis cruise!

Barcelona is a beautiful city rich in history and culture. There are also beautiful beaches. If I had my choice, I would pick Barcelona hands down, but that's just my opinion.

We are on the Anthem of the Seas and are trying to figure out transportation to the port from our hotel in Manhatten. What are our options? Looking forward to all ideas!

I think you should do the Carnival Breeze. It is a great ship. I did an eight day cruise on the Breeze last summer and loved it. The food was good, the shop is very clean. The only drawback was the entertainment, but since my DH and I always get a balcony, we just enjoyed that instead of some corny show. Your kids will love Guy's Burger and the Mexican place. Be sure to try the food in the Italian restaurant ( it offers a free lunch) and the Red Frog Pub that offers wings and this coconut cake that was to die for! You will not be sorry that you opted for this cruise. Instead of paying top dollar for an RCI cruise, keep your money and buy your wife a nice piece of jewlery!

I have been following the reviews for Anthem faithfully. Although some people have enjoyed their experiences on the ship, I am finding it hard to ignore so many negative experiences. Many people complained bitterly about the food and service. I am at the point of wanting to do another cruise. I would appreciate hearing what others think. We are booked on the July 14 cruise from Cape Liberty.

Thank you.

Thanks Night One for you honest opinion of your cruise. I have found useful information here and value each contributor's opinion. Please do not let people belittle your personal views. I have learned much from what you said and know that when I board the Serenade in Stockholm in July, my cruise will be some good, some neutral and yes, even some bad!

By the way, you mentioned the Carnival Breeze. It's a great ship. You should totally do it!

I can think of a few:

-Don't sweat the small stuff

-A smile is in fact contagious

-Why the hell not, you are on vacation! (this is if you are unsure about doing something)

-Although you are important, so are the other 1000 plus people on the boat

-pack light

-bring extra hangers

-bring a refillable cooler cup

-highlighter for the Cruise Compass

-sandwich bags

-hand sanitizer and Lysol Wipes

Having been to this area a number of times, take the ferry to Capri from the port in Naples. It is easy to do on your own.

hi ... first let me say thank you to all those who commented on my two posts ... have not been a member long and was happily surprised at the response I received ... most helpful ...

 

and my question this time is !!

 

do you think I will need any sea sick tablets ... we are on a 10 day Caribbean cruise but have not sailed before so not sure if I will need them ... would rather take them with me than have to see the Doctor

 

thank you for your replies

 

happy sailing Sandy

 

 

I was on the Carnival Breeze last summer. On our way to Aruba, I woke up in the middle of the night because I thought someone was shaking our bed (I know how a piece of chicken feels in a Shake and Bake bag now). Needless to say, the sea was very rough. What saved me from being sick was laying very still, on my back. I also had wrist bands on that put pressure on the pressure points on my wrists. Normally I would have been sick, but these bands really worked. We were also on deck 12 which made things much worse!

Forgot to say we tipped all the tour guides in dollars which they were grateful for!

Thank you very much for the information. It's good to know what to expect. Do you have any other things to share about the ports for example?

Hi,

 

There was only a small duty free shop with fags, spirits, smellies etc. which were reasonably priced also a few souvenirs.

 

The best thing I found was a TML Russian doll, Sens were available also.

 

Pete

So did you use Euros here then?

Thank you for the information. My problem with ATM's is that I do not think that the entire tour would be willing to stop by an ATM for us to get local money. I do not know that there is a convenient ATM on every dock that we tie up to (doubt it). I like to be prepared before hand.

 

Do Russians readily take euros? I would be willing to stick with just one (foreign) currency. I understand that Sweden has their own currency too. Any others I need to know about? (euros, rubles, Swedish ?)

I am not sure where you are headed, but our Baltic cruise will begin in Sweden which uses the Krona. Finland, Latvia and Estonia use the Euro and Russia the Ruble. We are going to London for 8 days after and they use the British Pound so you see my issue! I will stick with credit card, Euros, Krona and Pounds and skip the Ruble. I will use bank machines as there is no way I am going to carry a lot of cash. I will just have a few dollars of each currency on hand then get more as needed. :)

Thank you everyone. It is hard to know what to do. I think I will use my credit card and Euros as I don't want to be left with Rubles that I can't use. I will have no problem spending Euros! By the way, are there things worth purchasing at the port? Can you shop there after your tour is over?

My hubby and I are doing a Baltic cruise on the Serenade this summer. We were wondering about currency in Russia. For our tour there, we are to pay the company we are using in American dollars, but for souvenier shopping we have no idea what currency to use. Because there are so many different currencies on this cruise, I did not want to order Rubles if I didn't have to. What are the thoughts on this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you.:)

We loved the ship as well. I would go again for sure.

There were two dogs at Jack's Shack that were fine, it was further down the beach. The horses were thin and it was hot. I felt sorry for them having to trek up and down the beach with people on them. They were in the water too, right where people swim. I didn't like that at all. Overall, I don't think the beach is looked after at all and it will be a real mess if things don't change.

Embarkation

We had Faster to the Fun. Do not waste money on this as they called group one to board the ship about 3 minutes after they called FTTF. We were on the ship by 12:30 enjoying a Guy's Burger.

The Ship

Very clean. Carnival employees work very hard to keep the ship clean and organized. We had a Spa Stateroom (11230). Our room was great in that the location was fantastic and the decor a welcome change from the peach and orange colours. Our room was always clean and the ice bucket full. However, on at least three nights the ship was really swaying badly. If you are prone to sea sickness, I strongly suggest you stay away from higher decks. This stateroom category came with spa access. We used the thalassotherapy pool three times. We found that this was not really worth the extra money. However, it was nice to have a more quiet area of the ship, nicer decor, secret deck access at the end of the hall and a separate elevator that went straight up to the Serenity Deck.

Food

There are so many options! We really liked The Blue Iguana for lunch, Guy's Burgers and I loved the Tandoori place. We enjoyed the Italian place for dinner and lunch, although I did not care for the tiramisu. One of the things we really enjoyed was the Red Frog Pub. We ordered food here and the Red Frog beer. Wings were fantastic as was the coconut cake. The service was great as well. There is no way you will go hungry. Although the ship was full, knowing to eat at slower times will ease the stress of line ups. We were always at breakfast by 7:30 then to the aft pool to relax. By 12:00 we were ready for lunch. Most people were not ready for lunch until 12:30 or 1:00, so we avoided the craziness. We ordered room service a few times. It was always on time.

Disembarkation

We always do self-assist. We walked off the ship, went through customs and at MIA in about 45 minutes. The process was very efficient.

Ports

We have done the snorkel thing on previous cruises, so we tend to just do our own thing now, which basically consists of beach breaks and exploring. Note that

due to Hurricane Bertha, our itinerary was reversed.

Curaçao: We walked around the port area, did some shopping, visited the markets and bridge. This was a nice port with interesting things to see.

Aruba: This was my favourite port. We took a city bus to Eagle Beach. You just walk out of the port, and buy a ticket at the stand. It cost us 4.00 each return for the ticket. The bus stops right at the beach and runs about every 15 minutes. It was a great way to get to the beach and so much cheaper than the ship sponsored excursion.

La Romana D.R.: Most people really dislike this port and many encountered issues here. However, we enjoyed what we did despite that there was mass confusion when we wanted to purchase our ticket. We took a shuttle to Altos de Chavon. It was $7.00 per person return. Wandering through this Mediterranean style re-creation was pleasant and the views lovely. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here then got back on the ship. From what I hear, Carnival will no longer visit this port in the new year due to complaints from guests and issues caused by locals.

Grand Turk: Wow, this area has really gone down hill. We were there last summer and the beach is so dirty now. People riding horses down the beach and into the water were people are swimming. Boats coming right up on the shore, dog crap on the beach, garbage...it was so sad to see what could be such a beautiful area be so unkept. If you stick to Margaritaville, then you will be ok. There are some nice shops at the port as well.

Entertainment

We saw some shows including The Brits and Divas. I would rate these shows maybe a 6/10. They were a time filler at best. What made the ship fun was the cruise director Matt Mitchum. He was fantastic. We never saw the comedians but certainly enjoyed the Dive In Theater movies. When we cruise we tend to stick to ourselves and enjoy our balcony. So I can't really comment on the bar scene or late night life.

Overall Comments

We loved the ship. There is so much to do. You can do as little or as much as you want. The Carnival employees work incredibly hard and are dedicated to the cleanliness and maintenance of the ship. However, we found some of the women who worked in the Spa very unprofessional and not really committed to their clients. We overheard some of them complaining about a co- worker and we had one of our appointments cancelled twice and on the second visit, the one who was to do the treatment did not show up. This is not what we expected. However, this in no way affected our love of the ship or our thrill of being on board. It was a great 8 days of no cooking, no dishes or no cleaning! We would very highly recommend the Breeze and sail on this ship again.